I grew up in NM. Got accepted to the U of U where I want to study public health and epidemiology, so I recently moved into some apartments in the Salt Lake area and I'm getting ready for my first semester.

I was taking the train up to the campus this morning and a young couple (I'm guessing in their 30s?) started talking to me. The lady asked me if I was from Salt Lake and I told her I was from NM and I'm going to school. Then she said something like "if you don't mind me asking, is your family from Polynesia...like Tonga or Samoa?" and I said no and told her I was Navajo. Then she apologized and said that I just reminded her of the people she met on her mission in the Pacific Islands and later when she went to BYU Hawaii. (She also mentioned something called the Polynesian Cultural Center).

I'd heard a little bit about Mormonism, but I don't know anything about it other than polygamy and temples. So, I asked her a little bit about what she did on her mission and it turned into a lengthy conversation.

Anyway, she ended up giving me a really small Book of Mormon and said that while she was on her mission, the stories in the book really resonated with the people because it was a history of their ancestors. And it's apparently a history of MY ancestors, too, so she encouraged me to read it. The guy told me it could change my life and help me in school/life in general.

The experience encouraged me to read up on Mormonism and I found this site. It's an...interesting religion (with a really entertaining history). Utah is going to be fascinating.

"The guy told me it could change my life and help me in school/life in general"

The people who gave you that lofty opinion have essentially zilch in the way of life experience and moral authority. They _may_ know which end of their anatomy that toilet paper is applied to.

"And it's apparently a history of MY ancestors"

I assume you have access to oral tribal histories, or the works of historians and anthropologists - none of which will correspond to the lowbrow fiction of the Book of Mormon.


Enjoy your college experience - Mormonism will not enhance it one iota.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2017 11:34PM by 3X.

Congratulations. You are now an official target for conversion. That's what Mormons do: try to convert unsuspecting people to their cult. Learn as much as you can.

The Book of Mormon is not a history of your people, or anyone's people for that matter. It is a bad piece of racist 19th century fiction. Don't fall for it.

http://www.mormonthink.com/

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1841177

You're going to be pissed off when you find out what this cult did to the Navajo.

https://www.google.com/search?q=mormon+abuse+navajo&oq=mormon+abuse+navajo&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64.3615j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

ETA: Mormonism is not a history of our ancestors, it's bullshit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/2017 11:41PM by Itzpapalotl.

And not just the Navajos. Look up what they did to the Timpanogos. And the rest. Pisses me off too. Enrages me even that they have the nerve to promote the Book of Mormon as a history of the Native Americans and Islanders.

I suggest you learn about the Lamanites (somewhat like Hebrew Oompa Loompas) that Joseph Smith declared were the principal ancestors of "the American Indian", so you can at least mess with their heads. Absolutely nothing in the Book of Mormon matches what we know today about pre-Columbian America. Flora, fauna, DNA, linguistics, technology, you name it. This stuff was thoroughly debunked long ago (easily verifiable online), but the scam was so profitable they kept it going. I suppose God needed ruthless people to settle the west, and Mormons were it. Read what Brigham Young did to the Timpanogos tribe here: http://www.timpanogostribe.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2017 12:12AM by bradley.

Just a side note. In Utah, a couple in their thirties is not a "young couple".

Just saying.

;-)

Welcome to the board, Lumos.

The history of your ancestors is a lot more interesting than the silly fiction that Joseph Smith and his cronies came up with. Please keep reading this board. You don't want to be sucked into Mormonism. Good luck at the U of U!

all non-blondes look alike to her.

Ha ha. Laughing so hard.

Welcome to Utah,it's a bit of a strange place to get used to( 11 yrs in December and I still think I am stuck in the Twilight Zone)
Though they do roast Hatch Chilis now at some of the grocery stores.Even if you hate the chili's you get a good idea of who is from New Mexico or Colorado.

As a native Californian who has migrated through several states due to job transfers, I landed in NM in 1989, and have been lucky enough to stay here. While I miss the glorious beaches of SoCal, I love the High Desert Country here.

A meal is not complete without the question "Red or green?" It refers to chile, of course. We are a divided couple in our preferences. DH likes green, I go for red. Yummy stuff!

DH spent his formative years in Las Cruces and then stayed in ABQ after getting his BA. We grow and roast NM chiles (from NMSU seeds) here in Kentucky now. We are a green family. :)

One of my (half) nephews went to UU for college as a Catholic 40+ years ago, and stayed on in SLC. He's still Catholic, while surrounded by Mormons - he made a life there despite that.

SLC is a crosspoint of the west. It might grow on you. U of U's a great school for medical.

It's NOT the story of your ancestors.
Or of the Polynesians.

It's a made-up farrago of nonsense, contradicted by DNA, archaeology, and every other fact we have learned.

You got "contacted." They're trying to convert you so they can take 10% of your income for life. Don't fall for it.

Do your studies, go make a good life, and don't fall for the mormon con job. Good luck.

Mormons can make good neighbors.

But so too good fences make for good neighbors !

Be friendly to the natives while keeping your borders secure.

They aren't all Mormon in SLC, nor are they all religious. It's a good mix with a predominance of LDS. "75.40% of the people in Salt Lake City, Utah are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 8.97% are Catholic; 61.09% are LDS; 1.04% are another Christian faith; 0.08% in Salt Lake City, Utah are Jewish; 0.50% are an eastern faith; 0.45% affilitates with Islam."

Salt Lake City, Utah Religion - Sperling's Best Places
www.bestplaces.net/religion/city/utah/salt_lake_city

Mormons dote on Polynesians, but shit on Native Americans.

Welcome to the board and welcome to Utah,aka "the morridor" or even Mordor(if you're familiar with The Lord of the Rings). You will have many more weird experiences here, but this board is a good refuge to come to when you need to do so. Glad you're going to the U of U; three of our kids attended there and they enjoyed it without being bombarded with mormonism.

Lumos, unless you change the narrative with your new found friends, they will haunt you until the end of time! Nothing but eventual anguish/pain associated with mormonism is real/await those inexperienced enough to bite! My sad introduction to the CULT - Son, you will be baptized on the date explained to you into the mormon church! But, but, I'm okay with the Methodist Church! There's no further discussion - I have already made the decision for you!

You, like so many others before you, will discover shortly that mormonism's own sordid history is an indictment against them! mormons are pathological liars who will deceive you if you don't understand the nature of the beast! I'd highly recommend pursuing links noted on the www.mormonthink.com website! There are other very informative sites noted! Utah Lighthouse Ministry has a wealth of information that will enlighten rational thinkers! You'll get the idea soon enough! I'm sorry you have been hit by mormon Cultists before you have had the opportunity to get your feet firmly on the ground! Good luck! As Always, tnurg (GRUNT)

I'm amused by the fact that she mistook you for polynesian; she helped disprove the BoM without even knowing it.

DNA. DNA. DNA.

Youe Dine' DNA is closer to Polynesian DNA than her so-called Nephites & Lamanites.....northern european white people trying to tell others where they came from...because God.

Ugh.

If I lived there, I'd refuse to discuss religion on public transit or on the street with strangers. Nowhere else I know would this be such a common problem.

What I'd say, "My religion is a private matter. I don't discuss it with strangers or with anyone not of my choosing."

Yup what they said...or as I learned last year WORD...cool to finally know what word means...the lamanites were treated like vermin in early Utah...seems I read last year 80000 were snuffed out by early Mormons...they also became the scapegoat for every evil thing that happened from murders to robbery or both such as MMM...even sticky fingered Jake Hamelin the go to Indian guy in south Utah used them to his own ends or tscc ends...the Indian adoption program was another huge farce to make native children white...what bs...no you want zero to do with these droids as droids they are...enjoy school...avoid Mormons...move on with a great life devoid of anything Mormon...I was born into it as many here were...it's a slog unloading this train wreck of a religion you can sure live without...all the best

Welcome to the U of U and go Utes! It is a terrific school and the education you get there will be topnotch.

Please don't judge all Utahns by the couple on the train.....there are some who are normal and do not want to set you straight on what religion you should be a member of.

Enjoy the wonderful world of education. To quote an old saying, "The world is your oyster."

Guess they didn't tell you that the 'story of your ancestors' is a fictional story written by Joseph Smith who declared in it, that your ancestors used to be light skinned and 'white and delightsome' (quoted from the Book of Mormon, though it's since been changed to 'pure and delightsome') and that they were 'cursed' with dark skin for not obeying god's commandments. and God wanted to mark them so people could tell the good (white) from the bad (dark skinned)..

Now if that isn't the MOST racist thing you've ever heard of I don't know what is!

Mormons don't like to talk about that of course, it's very embarrassing for them and they have a lot of weird mind gymnastics they do in order to excuse it. Because they don't think you are bad 'now' but they do think at one time your ancestors were!

If that's not bad enough Joe Smith and the early followers who practiced polygamy (because it was 'god's law' and actually this is still part of Mormon doctrine, just not practiced by the mainstream Mormons), took as many native women for wives (esp. under Brigham Young's rule, after Joe Smith was killed) in order to 'purify' the blood line and turn the natives back to whites..

And I don't know what they meant by the Polynesians having anything to do with the Book of Mormon stories that all were supposed to have taken place in North America.

Hopefully this info will be enough to help you keep on the alert and not fall for the Mormon missionary propaganda. They will tell you a bunch of lies to try to convert you. Often they are lies they believe themselves since most members are kept in the dark about the real church history and doctrine.

It is definitely a cult, so beware!

Oh and I should say that a lot of Mormons do still have racist attitudes, though they act like they just 'love' the natives, etc.. they still see you as inferior to them and in need of 'saving'.. so to say that they don't think you are 'bad now' as I wrote, isn't entirely true.

Firstly they think all non-mormons are bad/sinners/in need of saving.. because they think they have the ONLY truth that exists in the world and the ONLY way to 'heaven' (wait till you hear what their version of heaven looks like) And they also judge members as not measuring up to being perfect enough for the highest blessings and glory in the highest kingdom after this life.

And I am sure the couple didn't tell you that you'd be required to pay a full tithe (TEN PERCENT of your income!) to the church in order to be a member (Well one in good standing), and then there is a whole long list of other things required that they won't tell you about, not even until sometime after you are baptized, or go to the temple to partake in very weird cult rituals which you won't be told about in advance of participating because they are secret, oops I mean 'sacred'..

You may want to read some of the exit stories on the other forum on this board to get an idea of what many of us went through as Mormons.

Just remembered one more thing about the Mormon church and Native Americans. Here are the words of a Mormon "prophet," officially spoken at the pulpit, talking about how righteousness is turning the skin of NAs *whiter*:

Spencer W. Kimball, Conference Report, October 1960, p.34:

"The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. In this picture of the twenty Lamanite missionaries, fifteen of the twenty were as light as Anglos; five were darker but equally delightsome. The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation.

"At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl – sixteen – sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents – on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather. There was the doctor in a Utah city who for two years had had an Indian boy in his home who stated that he was some shades lighter than the younger brother just coming into the program from the reservation. These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness. One white elder jokingly said that he and his companion were donating blood regularly to the hospital in the hope that the process might be accelerated."


Oh, that funny white elder. And now the Lamanites are "among the ancestors of the American Indians." Some church, huh?

That's revolting.

OMG! That is SO disgusting! The more quotes I hear from the ass the more disgusted I am. Just incredible. Puke! Vomit! ARRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

Ignorant,uneducated and racist pile of s%£t! They called SWK a prophet! I'm so glad I'm OUT

How do I get my granddaughter to see this? They are after her 2 best friends and my G. Daughter is 14 , just barely. My daughter is having a horrible time. This girl lost her little sister 2 years ago to brain Cancer.

My daughter knows better , but allows these people to talk to her and she is thinking I am unkind. I have a ton of medical problems and know she is in danger. I want to send her some of the things i see so she will not think i am crazy. I mean she thinks I am the only one that feels this way. I know nothing you can do, but please tell me I am right to be concerned? We have a long line of Mormons on my great G. G. Grandma's side. I have many of her clothes, her doll, Her death letter from her mom. She is buried in Mt Olivet Cemetery in S.L.C. I have all the clothes she had when she died in SLC when she brought my grandpa to see her mother at age 2. I think I took this too much into my heart and told my daughter too much and she told my granddaughter too much and I think they think they are MORMONS!

I would recommend that you start a new thread (do a copy and paste) so that you will get the advice that you need.